Three seeking two seats on Addison school board

Three candidates are seeking placement on two open six-year term seats on the Addison Community Schools Board of Education.

Incumbents Tim Shaw and David Luke are looking to be returned to the board, while challenger and former board treasurer Irv Dentel is seeking to unseat one of them.

David LukeLuke, 57, served on the school board from 1992 to 2000 and is currently completing an extended four-year term. He said he is running again for the opportunity to “serve the district that served my kids.”

Luke said if voters cast their ballots for him, he will continue to promote student achievement while doing so with reduced funding from the state. He expressed humility in serving on the board during the school district’s $20 million campus upgrade and construction project.

“I am pleased to have been a small part of bringing an improved campus to the district,” he said.

Tim ShawShaw, 52, has served on the school board two separate times over the past two decades for a total of 101⁄2 years. The Addison fire chief said he is running again to give back to the community and district that is seeing the fourth generation of his family now attending the school.

“We’ve lots of positive things going on in the district, particularly with the school construction project,” he said.

Irving DentelDentel, 67, had served on the board as treasurer since 2005 before being defeated in the 2008 election. He has challenged the board at several meetings over the past three years on denying his right to free speech for refusing to fill out a communication card as part of the board’s standard record-keeping policy.

Dentel has also accused the board of breaking unspecified promises made to him and said at the August meeting the entire board should resign. Attempts to contact Dentel for a candidacy interview were unsuccessful.